Flea was a special guest on Mike Watt’s radio show, on February 21st 2010. He talked about a lot of things: his  trip to Nigeria last year and he also mentioned he recently returned from Ethiopia.

The most interesting part of the interview is related to Red Hot Chili Peppers, where Flea talks about John Frusciante and his replacement – Josh Klinghoffer. He confirms that John has quit the band and Josh is the new guitarist, which we already knew anyway, but it’s still nice to hear. Flea seems to be ok with John’s decision to leave and is happy for him.

It’s around the 28 minute mark where Flea mentions both of them – John Frusicante and Josh Klinghoffer. And here you can download and listen to that part of the interview.

Thanks to rhcpuniverse for uploading the recording. Visit their website to download the whole interview!

Bid to get a Stadium Arcadium CD signed by Anthony Kiedis and help “heal Haiti” on charitybuzz.com. Go ahead, and check out other auctions too. Here is what they say:

Attention fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: now is your chance to own a unique piece of Chili’s memorabilia: a double gold (Sweden) album presentation for “Stadium Arcadium” and “Dani California.” The back has been signed “To Haiti with Love” Anthony Kiedis 2010. This framed piece is directly from Anthony’s personal collection and is ready to grace your walls now.

Here is direct link.  And this is how it looks. Enjoy!

So, for the first time, someone from the band – Chad Smith, openly talks about John Frusciante’s departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in a recent interview to a Pittsburgh radio station – 105.9 The X

NA: I hear the lineup has changed any chance you can comment on that?

CS: Expect something new and fresh, Josh not only is a fantastic guitarist but the kid can do it all, sing, bass drums and even piano.

Hmmm… At least someone spoke about it. I am glad the band is with John and they support his decision. Can’t wait to hear the new Red Hot Chili Peppers sound! Enjoy!

Grammy camper Nick Arnold had, as he says, a great privilege to interview Chad Smith during MusiCares event. Here is an interesting part of that interview:

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NA: One last question before I let you go: With this new Chili Peppers record, are you guys taking a new direction, or will you be sticking with your more recent sound?

CS: It is a new direction because we’ve got a new guitar player, Josh Klinghoffer, and he’s an amazing musician, so it’s obviously gonna change. But it’s also gonna change because we’ve got a new guy in the group, and he’s very talented, very musical. It’s fresh, it’s fun, everyone is in a good mood, everyone is coming up with lots of good ideas, and I just look forward to what the future is gonna bring. I know it’s gonna be different and exciting. It just makes me really happy to get up everyday and go to rehearsals, because I know something new and cool is gonna happen, and so I’m looking for it; it’s awesome.

NA: Sounds very cool! And I think that since we’re here, I should ask you about tonight. What does the song you’re playing tonight mean to you? Would you say you’ve been influenced by Neil Young?

CS: Yeah, of course! We’re huge Neil Young fans, all of us. We’ve played his show he puts on every year in San Francisco, called the “Bridge School Benefit,” we’ve done that a couple times. He’s fantastic! We love him, and we were just honored to be part of this. We’re playing a song called “A Man Needs A Maid,” and we’re doing our own take on it, and I hope he likes it.

CS: So it’s the first time we’ve played out with Josh, just the four of us, so it’ll be an exciting night for him.

NA: It’s almost like a reunion, or a re-debut for you guys, because you’ve been on a break for a while.

CS: Yep, so we’re taking it slow. One song at a time.

NA: Riding your way up the charts and airwaves like a new group.

CS: (Laughs) Yeah, that’s right, that’s what we are.

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This is just one part of the interview where he talks about Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the way he sees their new start with Josh Klinghoffer. Please go to grammycampblog to read the rest of the interview where he talks about his feelings about drumming, music in general, and his other bands. Gotta enjoy Chad Smith and his sincerity!

Here is youtube video from MusiCares, where Red Hot Chili Peppers performed, for the first time, with their new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. They played the song called Man Needs A Maid by Neil Young. Enjoy!